The mechanical, hydraulic or pneumatic transmissions of the driver's activities, which trigger certain responses, have been and will be replaced for many functions in the vehicle by electric lines combined with electronically controlled units which are located somewhere in the vehicle “on-site” and carry out the responses. In the technical world, this development is described under the expression “x by wire”. As example for this, let it be mentioned that the E-gas function or the electronic Diesel injection designated as “drive by wire”, the substitution of mechanical linkages between a switch lever and the vehicle transmission designated as “shift by wire” or the possibility of electronically controlling decelerating devices of the vehicle for which the designation “brake by wire” has prevailed. Mutual communications between separate devices in the vehicle or, for example, with a central vehicle master, are chiefly affected via a bus line, the CAN bus having already found wide circulation.
Together with the potentialities of functional improvement by uncoupling of the driver's actions and the response of the corresponding device in the vehicle, one other important reason for the development is the space saving, the higher freedom of shapes in the design of the devices and the location thereof and possible improvements of the economics. Electric cables are by nature smaller, lighter, more flexible and, at present, also mostly cheaper than corresponding mechanical, hydraulic or pneumatic transmission devices. However, for these electric lines, cables and plugs are needed which demand space and also certain requirements as to relocation and protection from environmental influences.
DE 43 34 595 C1 has disclosed a control for a motor vehicle which via CAN bus transmits the driver's actions to a transmission control and a motor control. The communication between the driver's actions and the responses of the devices in the vehicle such as transmission or motor takes place here by cable.
The problem on which the invention is based is to show, for the communication between the input of driver's actions and the response of vehicle devices, a possibility of communication.